Securement means for wall-mounted cooking ovens



T. C. NOLAN Jan. 19, 1960 SECUREMENT MEANS FOR WALL-MOUNTED COOKINGOVENS Filed Aug. 31, 1956 Terence Wad/ atent Gfiice 2,921,576 PatentedJan. 19, 1960 SECUREMENT MEANS FOR WALL-MOUNTED COOKING OVENS Terence C.Nolan, Niles, Ill., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporationof New York Application August 31, 1956, Serial No. 607,399

2 Claims. (Cl. 126-273) This invention relates to cooking ovens, and, inparticular, to an oven to be mounted in a wall cavity or a cabinet.

The presently popular built-in oven is installed in a cavity provided ina wall of the room, or into a wood or metal cabinet designed to receivethe oven. The cabinet or wall construction provides a bed or foundationalong which the oven is slid into final position. In view of the weightand relatively cumbersome size of the oven and the accompanyingdifliculty of placing the oven within the cavity, the cavity or cabinetopening is made suitably oversize in relation to the outside dimensionsof the oven itself. The gap between the oven and the adjacent walldefining the cavity is covered by a suitable trim formed as part of thefront oven structure.

An oven dooris usually bottom-hinged so that it may be swung between avertical closed position and a horizontal open position. The door andits hinges are made strong enough to permit the open oven door to serveas a shelf or landing space on which to place the foodstuff before orafter it has been cooked. Because of the clearance between the oven walland the wall defining the cavity in which the oven is placed, a heavyload on the open door may overbalance the oven, causing it to tiltforwardly about its base. Although the oven will quickly engage theupper cavity wall and its forward motion be arrested thereby, even asmall tilting motion may be somewhat frightening to the user. In theaverage installation it would be difficult to fasten the oven directlyto the wall by passage of screws or the like through the trim members;for in order to reduce the overall frontal area of the oven, it isadvantageous to have the trim overlap the adjacent wall structure to theminimum extent necessary to provide coverage for the gap. It is,therefore, an object of the present invention to provide concealed meansat the top of the oven structure which will not interfere with theplacement of the oven within the cavity and may be easily adjusted aftersuch placement to secure the oven within the cavity and prevent theforward movement thereof.

In practicing the invention, I use seeurement plates associated with thetop of the oven at the front corners thereof, and arrange said plates tobe in a withdrawn position. during the installation of the oven butextensible after the installation to engage the rear surface of the wallor structure defining the cavity. Said plates are slidably. mounted onthe oven structure, and have a sloping forward wall forming a camsurface which tends to draw the oven into the cavity as the seeurementplates are drivenhome. Preferably, the slope commences at a sharp apexand is quite acute, adapting the devices to bite into a brick or similarWall of such thickness as to make it impossible for the cam surface topass behind the wall. The mounting arrangement for the 'securementplates may comprise a machine screw and slot to'perrnit the necessaryextension or retraction thereof relative to the wall. Desirably, thescrew heads are concealed behind a panel which must be removed toalfordaccessto the screws, thus reducing the likelihood of tamperingwith the seeurement members.

Other features and advantages will best be understood by the followingdetailed description of a presently preferred embodiment of theinvention, read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective of a portion of a kitchen wallarranged to receive an oven embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view based on Fig.1 but showing the oven controlpanel removed and also showing a step in the method of practicing theinvention;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the oven showing a seeurementplate in fully withdrawn position but showing in broken line how itscamming surface passes behind the adjacent wall when the device is in anextended position;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on lines 44 of Fig. 3;and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a seeurement plate in lockingposition with the sharp apex thereof penetrating an adjacent wall.

In Fig. 1, a kitchen or other building wall 1 is constructed to definean opening for the reception of an oven structure 2. I have chosen toillustrate a plaster wall with which the facing strips 3 are used topresent a finished appearance. A suitable framework, including posts 4and rails 5, provides a structure on which the oven rests. The top ofthe rails 5 is at the level of the top of the lowermost strip 3 so thatthe oven may be slid directly into place.

The overi comprises a box-like outer casing 6 within which is supportedthe actual oven structure (not shown). Said oven structure issufiiciently smaller than the easing to provide for relatively heavyinsulation between the oven and'casing. Above the oven an intermediatewall 7 and the top wall 8 of the casing cooperates with the side walls6a, 6b thereof to provide an open front chamber '9 which accommodatesswitches, etc., which are mounted on a removable control panel 10. Thedoor 11 is bottom hinged so as to be swung from the illustrated closedposition to a horizontal open position. The oven door mounting means ismade strong enough to permit foodstuffs to be placed thereon prior to orafter cooking in the oven. The oven door thus forms a convenient shelfor landing space.

The wall structure defining the oven-receiving cavity is deliberatelymade oversize to facilitate the installation of the oven. The controlpanel 10 and side and base trim panels 12 are arranged to cover the gapsbetween the oven and the Wall structure. When it is considered thatmodern domestic ovens are sized to accommodate a twenty-four poundturkey, and that a roasting pan containing such a turkey may be placedon the lowered oven door, it is apparent that the load may cause theoven to tilt forward to the extent provided by the space 14 between thetop wall 8 of the oven casing and the top edge of the cavity. Althoughthis is not a frequent occurrence, it can be very frightening to theuser.

The present invention provides a simple and effective means for securingthe oven wall within the cavity. As shown in Fig. land Fig. 2, the frontof the oven casing is provided with a rigid vertical frame 15, of whichthe upper portion thereof as defined by the respective upwardlyextending side walls 15a and 15b and transverse wall 150, servesremovablyto support the control panel 10. For example, the panel mayhave hooks or the like (not shown) which engage over the shoulders 16 ofthe frame and the frame may have tapped holes 17 to accommodate screwspassing through the panel. Such which slidably receives the body of ascrew 19. The screws are inserted from beneath, as suggested in Fig. 2.The screw at each side of the oven enters a tapped hole near the innerend of a securement plate 20 which rests slidably on the wall 8.Preferably, the front edge wall portion 20a of each plate 20 is slidablyguided by the wall 150 of the frame 15, as appears in Figs. 3 and 5. Inthis manner, the plates are permitted only a very limited rotation aboutthe respective screws as an axis.

The plates 20 are of relatively heavy rigid stock and have a cammingsurface 21 extending at an acute angle from the sharp apex 22. Thelocation and length of the slots 18 and the length of the securementplates are such that the plates may be completely drawn inwardly of theside walls 6a and 6b of the oven casing, as shown in Fig. 3, to permitinstallation of the oven. When extended to securement position, theplates engage behind the adjacent wall structure, as shown in brokenline in Fig. 3. The angle of the surface 21 and the extension permittedby slot 18 adapts the plates to various wall thicknesses. Occasionally,an oven may be installed in a brick-front wall, or other wallconstruction so thick that the surface 21 will not engage behind thewall. In such installations, the plates may be driven outwardly so thatthe apices thereof bite into the adjacent wall material, or theinstaller may chisel a small indentation in the wall, as I shown in Fig.5, in which the wall is identified as In.

After the installation of the oven in the cavity and the removal of thecontrol panel 10, it is a simple matter to drive the securement platesinto their home position behind the adjacent wall. The operator merelyreaches into the chamber below the wall 8 and by a suitable screwdriverunloosens the screw 19 slightly to permit the plate 20 to be drivenoutwardly. This he can do merely by holding the blade of the screwdriveragainst the head of the screw and then tapping the screwdriver in theproper direction to effect the outward projection of the plate. As therelatively acute angled surface 21 engages behind the adjacent wallsurface, the oven body portion is drawn inwardly in relation to the wallsurface. Also, there is a tendency for the plate to rotate about thescrew 19. Because of. the rearward location of the screw and theleverage resulting therefrom, the rear portion of the plate will pressstrongly against the frame member 15. The friction thus resulting holdsthe plate 20 in its outwardly driven position until the installerretightens the screw 19. It will be apparent that the engagement of tionin the projecting position,

the respective plates 20 with the adjacent walls effectively holds theoven against forward tilting in the cavity. When used in connection witha brick or other thick wall, the holding power of the plates isessentially related to the extent of penetration of the pointed ends ofthe plates into the wall material. Even where there is no appreciablepenetration, the frictional engagement of the plates into the wall iseffective to hold the oven against any forward tilting.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be thepreferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood thatvarious modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to coverin the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scopeof the invention.

I claim:

1. An oven unit adapted to be accommodated by a supporting wallstructure having an opening to receive said unit into a cavity insidesaid wall structure, said unit comprising an oven having a cokingchamber, casing structure for said oven and defining an upper chamberabove said oven, said casing structure being open at the front into saidchambers, said upper chamber having a top wall, means comprising rigidframe means forming a rigid front portion of said oven casing structure,said frame means having a wall structure extending outward from thefront edge of said top wall at each side thereof,

front closure means on said oven casing structure for said chambers, arigid, elongated plate member slidably mounted on said top wall at eachside thereof, each said plate member being immediately behind and guidedby said frame wall structure, and, means accessible from the inside ofsaid upper chamber for manually sliding each said plate member alongsaid frame wall structure into a position where said plate memberprojects beyond a corresponding side of said oven casing structure andincluding means for releasably securing each said plate member to saidtop wall in the projection position, each of said plate members havingan end portion extending angularly outward and rearwardly with respectto the frame wall structure to produce a camming action urging the ovenunit rearwardly in the circumstance that said angularly extending endportion is passed behind a portion of the supporting wall structure,said angularly extending end portion further affording a sharp point forengagement with the adjacent supporting wall structure under thecircumstance that the supporting wall structure is in the path of saidpoint when the plate member is slid outward from the oven casingstructure.

2. An oven unit adapted to be accommodated by a supporting wallstructure having an opening to receive said unit into a cavity insidesaid wall structure, said unit comprising an oven having a cokingchamber, casing structure for said oven and defining an upper chamberabove said oven, said casing structure being open at the front into saidchambers, front closure means on said oven casing structure for saidchambers, rigid, elongated plate members slidably mounted on said ovencasing structure each in a position above said oven and behind the frontof said casing structure, guide means for so guiding each said platemember that said member may be manually slid lengthwise generallyparallel to the front of said casing structure to project beyond saidcasing structure, said guide means restraining said plate member againstrotaand means accessible from the inside of said upper chamber formanually sliding each said plate member along said guide means andincluding means for releasably securing each said plate member in theprojecting position, each of said plate members having an end portionextending angularly outward and rearwardly with respect to the front ofsaid casing structure to produce a camming action urging the oven unitrearwardly in the circumstance that said angularly extending end portionis passed behind a portion of the supporting wall structure, saidangularly extending end portion further affording a sharp point forengagement with the adjacent supporting wall structure under thecircumstance that the supporting wall strucure is in the path of saidpoint when the plate member is slid outward from the oven casingstructure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,246,107 Kendig Nov. 13, 1917 1,492,582 Smith May 6, 1924 1,492,909Waizenegger May 6, 1924 1,743,273 Hammer Jan. 14, 1930 1,795,224 ManginMar. 3, 1931 2,140,861 Steketee Dec. 20, 1938 2,672,390 Blashfield Mar.16, 1954 2,684,220 Beber et al July 20, 1954 2,739,584 Hupp Mar. 27,1956 2,752,217 Simon June 26, 1956 2,769,562 Rudolph Nov. 6, 19562,775,500 Etherington Dec. 25, 1956 2,812,149 Appleton Nov. 5,1957

FOREIGN PATENTS.

8,251 Great Britain Dec. 15, 1904 511,141 Great Britain Aug. 10, 1 939

